Not Part of the Family
by AnitaLife
Summary: A new girl arrives at Ouran and is forced to deal with Tamaki and the entire Host Club. All because a slip of the tongue. She can deal with everything in the host club, except the part of being part of a family. OCxTamaki Please review!
1. First Day of Class

**Authors Note: **Hello everybody! I took way to long to update this, and found a few of my previous chapters riddled with mistakes and inacuracies. I am such a failure... But now I am back and sure not to screw things up! So enjoy reading, and please don't foget to review!

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><p>My first day at Ouran was not the sugar coated dream Father had made it out to be. I was in my second year of high school but this was my first year at Ouran. (My first being at the Lobelia Academy. Raving school of lesbians.)<p>

"Welcome back for a new year here at Ouran everybody!" the teacher piped cheerfully. "We have a new student joining us. Her name is Riku Satoshi."

I stood at the front of the room looking at all the blue and yellow. Everybody was looking at me, scrutinizing me by even the way I was breathing. Not to sound vein, but I don't look that bad. In my family we were a tad on the taller side and had an almost an orange tinge to our hair when fall comes around. And be sure to know I wasn't fat, but I wasn't exactly skinny.

My eyes wandered around the room and I got sick of all the colors so I focused in the corner where there was just a wall, the only empty seat in the room. "Please take your seat next to Tamaki."

I drifted down the aisles with as much grace as I could, which wasn't all that much. _I hate being a klutz, _I thought to myself as I got to the back. Apparently Tamaki was either a morning person or a flaming homosexual, or possibly both. He smiled so warmly I thought his face might catch fire.

Class started and everybody did class work, but I was dreaming. Several times I involuntarily started writing poems instead of the notes we were supposed to be taking. Each time I caught myself and got back to work, saving the poems for the book. Midway through class, the teacher had to leave so we all got a break. Friends stood up and grouped together. Some of them shot me glances, but they all looked away when I looked at them.

Instead of being bothered that nobody was talking to me, I took out my poem book and took the poems from my notes into the pages. They weren't exactly poems, just thoughts on life and other various things. Sometimes they had rhythm and a bit of rhyme to them, so I got in the habit of calling them poems. I always had this book with me, so the pages were well worn and the first poems smudged. When you opened it you could sometimes catch the smell of roses drifting from them.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tamaki!" said the blonde boy who had just now returned. I nearly jumped a foot that he got that close.

"I figured seeing as I sat by you," I replied. He began to look at the notebook but I hurriedly closed it and stowed it out of sight.

He blinked but shook it off. Just as he was about to say something, the teacher came back in. "Everybody, time for class to begin! Back to your seats, and notebooks out!"


	2. Lunch and Other Awkward Things

**Authors Note: **Hey everybody! Alright, well in this chapter, they have lunch. Going off of the episode when the twins are fighting, I based the lunch system off of that. SO don't shoot me if I get something wrong. (I watched the scene before writing this so….neyah.)

Class didn't seem to last long for me. In a matter of seconds it felt like we were off to lunch. I picked up my stuff and rushed to the lunch hall. The lunch menu seemed quite impressive, at least to me.

"Hello miss, what can we get you?" said the kind lady who stood behind the counter.

"Surprise me," I replied nonchalantly. Everything on the list looked really delicious.

She took a minute to assemble a tray for me, and then she handed it to me. I took it and smiled; "Arigato" Then I made my way through the crowd and sat down at a table alone. A few girls drifted over and talked to me for a minute or two; just introductions and the like. After a while they drifted off and found something else more interesting than me.

"Hey there stranger," said Naomi as she sat across from me. She was small and had soft brown hair that went along with her eyes. "How is Ouran for you?"

"It's fine. Your family sure had a load of things to say about this place. So far, I see no reason to call them liars." I shrugged and took a bite of my food. Heavenly, I must say.

She laughed. "Ah, wait until after school."

"What's after school?"

She winked at me and smirked. "You'll see."

"Look I have a tour after school." I never liked having people lead me into things. Most of the time I ended up hating the results. At that moment the memory flashed before my eyes. _No. Not now. It's behind you. _"I have to wait for a bit after class because the guide has a club or something."

Her gaze became very focused on me. "How did I not see this coming before?"

"See what coming?"

She shook her head quickly and took a bite from her food, signaling that she wasn't coming free from this information easily. "Nothing at all."

"Naomi?"

"It is nothing, Riku."

"You either tell me what you had planned for me, or you tell me what you just were talking about." I gave her a glare that meant business.

She gulped. "Where is Risa when you need her?"

"Naomi, answer me. Risa will not come to your rescue."

"It's just that the…. I wanted to surprise you with a fun time at an all-girls club!"

"All-girls?" I stared at my food. "What do we do there?"

She mumbled something under her breath before stuffing food into her mouth.

"What was that?" She continued to stuff her face until she ran out of food. "Naomi, please. You know about me and surprises."

"It's a host club, okay? A group of guys flirting with an audience of girls, that's all it is." She crossed her arms.

I forced myself to take several slow, deep breaths. No yelling and no fighting. That would only draw bad attention to you. "Naomi," I finally managed in a rather calm voice. "You know about me and guys. Me and flirting. Just doesn't work out to well, period."

"But these guys are like pros at this. They can deal with almost anybody. So long as you don't pick a fight with anybody, you are allowed to attend. Just pick out the guy you want for the bit of time you are allowed."

I shook my head, wanting to hit something. "Naomi… that is hitting to close to home."

"It's just being hit on, no big deal."

"Naomi, just stop. I see no point in going. Flirting is for when you have emotions for somebody. If you just go around doing it because somebody is paying you, then that's either called greed, prostitution, or a combination of the both."

Naomi didn't reply. She didn't even move, or look up at me. Once, she glanced up, but it wasn't at me; more at something over my shoulder. I glanced and saw none other than Tamaki Suoh paused, mid-step, his hand hovering above my shoulder. His face was a scarlet red, and his moth was clenched tightly shut. I tried to move, but I couldn't for some reason. Quickly, he turned on his heel and marched off.

Instantly it felt like I'd been kicked in the gut. I hated it when I offended somebody unintentionally. When somebody got mad, I either go sad or defensive, even if I wasn't the subject of the anger.

Usually, I was in tune with the people around me and I could sense emotions that people were giving off, unless I was deeply involved and passionate about something. But some feelings were hard to ignore, no matter how focused I am.

_How could I be passionate about the Host Club? You hardly know anything about them. _Something inside me told me that the Host Club was about to become more important to me than anything had ever really been.


	3. The Book

**Authors Note:** Hey everybody! So I know about the last two chapters were just Tamaki based and you haven't met Kyoya yet. But he shows up I swear! So in your review please tell me which you think is better for Riku. (Comments on her name will make me sad. There is a reason she has a guy's name, and it will be explained later.) Sorry if it takes forever to meet him, just it was important that I included that info!

Class continued on for the rest of the day. Tamaki sat next to me, but he refused to even glance at me. I tried to apologize but he blushed and found other things interesting. I awkwardly had to suffer through, knowing I essentially called him a whore earlier.

Later than I would have liked, the bell rang. Suddenly there was a flurry of motion and noise as people got up and left. Tamaki shot up and quickly disappeared from sight. All in the name of avoiding me, obviously.

"Riku," Sensei called me up. I looked at her and she smiled. "Your guide won't be ready for a few minutes. To make it easy for them to find you, could you stay in this room?"

I nodded. "Sure, I can stay in here."

She stood up and grabbed a few things. "Thank you for being so agreeable with all of this Riku. Normally the tours would've been done before hand, but you being a last minute addition to the school registry…"

"It's fine, you don't need to explain it to me."

She smiled then made a quick exit. The halls were clogged, so she had to push her way through the students. I saw many people make their exits slowly, until I was the last person standing in the room. Before long the halls were also silent as the students left there.

I looked around the room for the hundredth time that day. This was my new school. An entirely new beginning for me.

**Hey Blondie**_, _I heard them say in my mind, **how is it there? ** I saw their faces, smirking. Their stance was powerful and strong, unlike their usual girly demeanor.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. _Not now, not today, not ever, _the chant I taught myself echoed in my head. _Not now, not today, not ever. _

I moved to a seat that was in the middle of the room and sat down in it. Carefully, I took out the notebook from my bag.

The cover was black and well worn. I flipped through the pages, beginning to be soft at the edges where my touch was familiar. Most of the pages had writing on them with small doodles of random things. Little poems that told my daily thoughts was what they were. Almost all of them had boarders that gradually became more intricate, the top corner smudged from my fingers running over it. Some pages held drawings of things I had seen.

To the majority of people, they would've thought this was my diary. But it was more than that. My late mother bought this book. It was intended to be my baby book, but she never got to use it. Only the first page was used. One used for possible baby names, a boy column and a girl column.

I looked at it sadly and began tearing up. _No. Not now, not today, not ever. _Never before had I ever cried that my mother was never there. I just dealt with it and showed indifference. But I held this book as my most prized possession.

Gently, I flipped to a blank page and began thinking. _What to write, what to write? Something about today, possible… but probably to stereotypical to complain about the woes of being the new girl. _As I pondered this, I drew a boarder with hearts and flowers.

"Sorry it took me so long," said somebody in the doorway.

I jumped up and looked to see who it was. A tall guy, midnight black hair, almost matching dark eyes, glasses and a black book pressed to his side. He looked like somebody with mystery behind them. I watched him look me over; his gaze lingered on my book.

Quickly I slammed my book shut and shoved it my bag. "No problem, it didn't feel like any time had passed."

He pushed up his glasses. "That seat tends to do that. I'm Kyoya Otori by the way, and that is my seat."

I looked at the desk and stood up. "I'd introduce myself, but you know who I am."

He smirked and nodded. "I know all about you." When I reached the front of the room he stepped out of the door way so I could get by. "Shall we begin?"


	4. The Tour

**AUTHORS NOTE: **I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am friggen sorry! I have taken forever to update this! Mostly because the muse was dead, but it suddenly came back to me! Life has also been hectic, so yeah… To make up for it, I have made this chapter EXTRA LONG! :3 Hopefully it makes up for my absence… Not that any of you noticed or cared…. And I already uploaded this chapter, I just did some major revisions.

But a lesson to learn to everybody! Get the writing done quickly. I hate having to go back and being like "Oh, I was in first person. Not third. Now I have to change all the 'she's and 'her's into 'I's and 'my's…"

I was distant throughout the tour. I kept my mind and actions into it enough so I just seemed slightly tired. But my mind was actually somewhere else. Tamaki… I hadn't meant to say that. Sadly, I had been caught in one of the moments when my tongue slipped.

As they went on through the halls, the one actually leading the tour would look back at me occasionally. "Are you alright Miss Satoshi?"

"I'm fine," she replied, finally getting away from her thoughts. It wasn't good to linger on those things. At least while around others.

"Are you certain of this? You seem fairly distant."

I smiled softly, although not meaning it. "I'm completely fine. Just getting used to moving here and all…"

Kyoya nodded and pushed up his glasses. "That makes sense. I thought it might have to do something with your dialogue with Tamaki from earlier."

My felt her face grow hot, in what must have been the fastest spreading blush to ever be seen on a human being. "Y-you know about that?" she stammered out.

He smirked. The glare from his glasses blocked his eyes, so he looked all the more evil. "I am Tamaki's closest friend. Obviously I know. I run the Host Club's finances and schedules."

I held my hands up in front of myself and waved them franticly. "I'm sorry! I am sooo sorry! My tongue slipped and I didn't really mean it! It's just from my past- never mind! I'm sorry!"

His smirk disappeared and he looked forward. "All is forgiven by me. Mistakes are common for people. However, I cannot say that Tamaki has forgiven you just yet."

I pouted slightly. It was good to know that one of the hosts forgave me, but it was mostly Tamaki's forgiveness that I wanted. He was the one heard the statement when I said it, and not when it was being passed on as a secondhand story.

We finished the tour not much later, but it felt like hours later for me. The previously unspoken thought had been brought out and was now a tension between Kyoya and me. In my mind, I repeated _I need to watch my mouth_ and _Way to go, Riku_.

"Tell Tamaki I'm sorry if you see him before tomorrow," I told Kyoya before we parted ways.  
>"I believe it would be best if you were the one to tell him this, Miss Satoshi." He pushed up his glasses.<p>

I nodded. "I will tell him… I just want him to understand how greatly sorry I am."  
>"You'll have to tell him that yourself." He glanced at his watch. "I apologize. The tour took a bit longer than scheduled and I must be going."<p>

He turned on his heel and walked off before I could even say goodbye. Not that it mattered, I just felt like he really wanted to get away from me. I wouldn't blame him; if I was in his situation, I'd be long gone.

…. Later …

I got out of the car and looked at my home. It was styled after an American plantation, with a tower in one corner of the building. Most of the white structure was four stories, but the castle styled tower was over six stories high. Thick green ivy ran up it, then surrounded the windows that circled most of the top. The windows were blocked off by dense velvet curtains. Luscious gardens surrounded it, making it seem even more like an American plantation.

I went to the front doors and went in, not bothering to thank the driver. Inside, there was almost no Japanese influence. Immediately as you came in, there was the foyer. A stairwell was on each side of the room, built along the wall. There were only three doors, once you reached the top; the one on the right lead to my room, the one on the left lead to my fathers, and the other being the guest room. If you didn't go up the stairs, you would find the kitchen, theater room, the music room, and my fathers unused office.

"I'm home," I called to nobody in particular. It was in the moments before I got a reply I tried to guess who was there. Was it Kiki's day to work that day?

I heard fast footsteps coming from the area around the kitchen and saw Kiki appear. "Welcome home, Miss Satoshi!" She smiled and bowed respectfully. Her dull brown hair was tied up in a neat bun, but her bangs fell down and brushed her eyebrows.

"Please, just call me Riku. You don't have to call me Miss Satoshi. It just seems all to formal."

"But your father said—"

"Ignore what he said. I am called Miss Satoshi all day, and I don't want to have to be formal in my own home."

She looked up at me with big brown eyes, like puddles of chocolate. They were noticeably darker than her hair. "Alright… Would you like me to bring dinner up to your room later?"

I nodded. "Yes, please. I would like that." When she smiled and turned to leave, I stopped her. "Is he home?"

A sad look crossed her face. "No. The production is taking longer. He said he'd be gone for at least another week if not two."

"Oh…" I sighed and tried not to look sad. This wasn't the first time he'd be gone for weeks on end, and it wasn't going to be the last.

"I'm very sorry Riku."

I went to the stairs. "It's not your fault."

She disappeared down the hall, and I disappeared up the stairs. I went up the spiral stairs that lead to my actual room with speed. Everything just kept getting worse as they day went on. When I reached the top, I swept up the remote and hit the button. Nothing happened. I went to the curtains and pulled them to the sides by hand. The daylight greeted my room, cutting through the darkness I usually kept it in.

Light wood colored bookshelves that were waist high lined the wall directly opposite the window. They were stocked with novels of all kinds, along with "How to draw" books and other random things I learned. On top of them were sketch pads, some with every page used others with just a few pages, photo albums full of pictures I looked at carefully then attempted to draw, canvases to paint on if I wanted, and an abundant supply of art supplies. A large plasma screen TV was over the center of it, the DVD and music shelves under it. Two sofas sat in the main area. One of them was facing the TV and the other was facing the window. A glass coffee table was between them, and was where I put my bag.

I went up even more stairs to my bed, which was on a balcony style area that went over the shelves. My bed itself was king sized, and was crammed with pillows and thick blankets, all varying shades of purple. Some of the pillows were fuzzy, others were silky. Long story short, I had tons of pillows. The carpet was fuzzy and lavender, which happened to feel very nice to somebody walking barefoot. On each side of the bed were night stands. One had an alarm clock, and the other held my page-a-day calendar with inspirational quotes and random facts, along with the phone.

My closet was off to the right side, and I went in and changed. When I came out, I was no longer wearing the buttercup yellow dress or the glossy black shoes.

On the coffee table was sushi and a can of soda; the typical meal for me. But what was untypical was the phone on the tray. On the screen it read "1 New Message". I fell back onto the sofa and pressed the play button on the phone.

My father's tired voice emitted from the phone as I opened the can. "I'm sorry Riku. The movie is taking much longer than previously thought. I'll be home as soon as I can, but I don't want to rush things here."

"If you wanted to be home as soon as you could you could just give people a week off or something and come home," I muttered under my breath as I tossed the phone to the sofa opposite me.


	5. In the Club

**Authors Note: ** An extra chapter? I think so! Actually, my parents took down the internet so they could do work on my mom's office. This means I cannot watch Doctor Who or upload the chapter before this. My muse will not die quite yet.

The next day, I sat in class, waiting for the bell to ring and the teacher to come. Hopefully soon, because I really didn't want to suffer through the embarrassment of apologizing to Tamaki quite yet. Sadly, he came before the teacher had even come into the classroom.

He smiled and waved at people as he made his way to his seat. I tried to disappear before his violet eyes found their way to me. But doing so only would cause more attention to be drawn to me.

"Hello, Miss Satoshi!" he said cheerfully as he sat in his seat. He went about everything like I hadn't said what I did.

"Hello, Tamaki." I drummed my fingers on my desk before glancing at him. "I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I didn't mean it."  
>He chuckled lightly and smiled even brighter than before. "It's perfectly fine, Miss Satoshi. I knew you didn't mean it."<p>

It felt like the world was lifted from my shoulders. "Thank you for being so forgiving Tamaki. If I ever can make it up to you, let me know."

He nodded. "Will do!"

Then class began.

…Afterschool….

The bell rang and people shot up and began leaving quickly. Most everybody's bags were packed before the bell was two minutes away from ringing. I put my pencil in my bag and got ready to stand up, when a hand was placed on my desk in front of me.

"Guess what Miss Satoshi," Tamaki said with a big, dumb smile on his face.

"What?" I replied and looked up at him.

"I figured out how you could make it up to me!" He was nearly bouncing with joy. This did not look like it was going to end well for me.

"How?" I hesitantly asked, biting my lower lip as I thought of what it could be.

He took my wrist and pulled me up. "You will attend the Host Club! I heard you saying earlier you had no plans for today!"

"You were eavesdropping on my conversation with my friend?"  
>He shook his head. "No, silly! I just happened to overhear as I was walking by in a slow fashion!"<p>

I glared at him. "I refuse to go."

He smiled. "You have no choice!"  
>Before anything else could be said, he began walking along quickly, dragging me along. People looked as we passed as I kept telling him to let me go and a few other choice words. No matter how much I wiggled or twisted my arm and pulled, his grip was to strong. He pulled me all the way through the doors before he slightly loosened his grip on my wrist.<p>

"Hey boss, who is this?" said two people in perfect unison.

I looked up at the identical red headed boys. "Who are you guys?"

They held up their right hands and waved a finger at me. "We asked first."

Tamaki took a step sideways so he was an arm's length away. "This is Riku Satoshi! She was too shy to come before, so I brought her here! We are here to welcome her to the academy!"

"No I wasn't!" I snapped and swiveled my head towards him. "You drug me along!"

He tilted his head. "Why would I have done that?"

I almost yelled '_Because you decided this is how I'd make up for what I said!'_ But then I realized that he probably didn't tell the others what I had said either. After a moment I figured out a reply, "Because I wasn't planning on going but you knew I was new and that I had nothing to do today. That is why you brought me along."

The twins smirked. "Oh! Let's play a game!"

I pouted and set my gaze on them, making a note to be a lot more careful of what I say, even if Tamaki is within a mile. "What kind of game!"

They took out hats from behind themselves and slipped them on. "It's time to play the Which One Is Hikaru Game!"

"To bad I just met you… So one of you is Hikaru?"

They nodded. "Yup!"

My eyes flickered from one to the other. "I have a 50-50 chance… So the one on the right must be Hikaru."

"Uh-oh! You got it wrong!"

"No she didn't," said a voice off to the side. A short, brown haired boy with brown eyes appeared. His voice was surprisingly feminine for somebody his age. "I'm sorry about them. They like confusing people."

The twins crossed their arms in perfect unison. "Nobody was asking you Haruhi."

He rolled his eyes. "They get better as you get to know them. When you first meet them they seem to always be up to trouble. As you get to know them, less and less of their trouble is directed at you."

"I don't like the sound of having any trouble directed at me at all; or around me, for that matter."

Haruhi shrugged. "You get used to it, I guess."

Kyoya was sitting at a table off to the right. "Get to work all of you. The customers are going to be getting here soon."

As they departed, I slowly backed up to the door. My escape was almost completed until I hit something very large and warm. I tiled my head back until my chin was pointed to the ceiling, almost. The face looked down at me with a flat expression.

"S-sorry!" I squeaked before jumping forward and shuffling out of the way.

"Look Usa-chan! A new friend!" A small boy with golden hair poked his head out from behind the giant and smiled. "Hi!"

"Um… Hello?"

They stepped out from behind the other and smiled. "I'm Honey! This is Mori," he said as he pointed at the giant, "and this is Usa-chan!" he continued over enthusiastically as he held out a pink bunny.

"Nice to meet you Honey, Mori and Usa-chan. I'm Riku Satoshi." I bowed respectfully.

The small blonde one took my hand. "Let's go eat cake!"

"I can't!" I dug my heels into the ground and nearly fell over, but the tall one steadied me.

"Why not?" he asked while tilting his head, the bunny looking like its head was going to pop off from him hugging it so tightly.

"Because I don't like sweets."

That must've been too much for him to bear. His crystal blue eyes got to the size of dinner plates. "You… don't… like…. sweets?"

The tall one quickly intervened just before Honey started crying. "Maybe she's just not hungry now. Besides, that means more cake for you."

Honey found this acceptable and his eyes went to a regular size. "Yay! More cake for me~!" He took Mori's hand and they began walking off.

"You got to be careful kid," said an annoying voice behind me. I whipped around and saw a girl in uniform with brown hair. "Honey Senpai takes his sweets seriously!"

"Senpai? He couldn't have been older than six!"

She shook her head. "Ahohoho! You have much to learn!"

"Hopefully I won't stick around long enough to learn much," I muttered.

Tamaki appeared next to me and draped his arm over my shoulder. "Riku, don't say such things! Once you are part of the Host Club, you're part of the family!"

I stepped away from him, but he mirrored my movement. "But I don't want to be part of some hypothetical family." I put air quotes around family.

Tamaki shook his head. "Shame, shame! I did not raise my daughter to be this way!"

I glanced at him. "Could I please be the grandma that has dementia and doesn't remember anybody, then yells at them to leave the room?"

He looked at me. "That one is offensive to the elderly all around the world."

I took his arm and removed it from my shoulders. "Yes, but you see, I don't want to be here at all."

The brunet girl jumped in. "I know! She can be the foster child!"

"Why would I be a foster child?"

Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Or the long lost daughter or sister that suddenly appears!"

"Since when have I been part of this twisted family?"

"Since I decided," Tamaki replied. Then he continued his banter with the girl. "How about we ask the others what they think Riku should be?"  
>The girl nodded. "Yes, we should. And your name is Riku? Looks like I forgot to introduce myself I am Renge and I am—"<p>

"Leaving," the twins said, interrupting her.

She looked at them. "I was not! Tamaki and I were deciding what part of the family this girl is!"

"I don't want to be part of the family!" I nearly yelled, but they still ignored me.

Just like everybody else did, they ignored me. "Weren't you working on some event you were going to convince Kyoya into doing?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes! I was! Thank you for putting me back on task!"

A loud rumbling from a giant motor sounded and she sunk into the ground, laughing in her odd, annoying fashion.

"How did I not notice that before?"

But she was right. I did have a lot to learn.


	6. Before Ouran

**Authors Note: **Beware of foreshadowing.

I rush into my house and up to my room. That day, I didn't bother making small talk with the maids. They could probably conclude my mood due to my speed.

It needed to leave, those murky feelings, those filthy lies. Water washed it all away, but not for long. Something else always came along. But these lies were like falling face first into deep mud. Every single time you tried to get free, it held you down and got deep into everything on you. Sometimes it would claim your shoes which you might dig to get back. Other times it got under your nails and into your skin so it was hard to get out. This was both.

My school uniform lay in a heap in the corner of my bathroom. I hadn't even bothered to grab a hanger to put it up on later.

The hot water felt relaxing like nothing else. It was washing it away. The lies which I was determined to forget. Like dirty water going down the drain, I told myself. All I had to do was use enough soap, and it was like the dirt never existed. Too often, I was reminded the hard way that there was plenty of dirt in the world.

Once I was mostly dry, I slipped into my pajamas, which was a tank top and shorts with rubber ducks on them; to adorable for my mood. I looked at the uniform and sighed. Carefully, I picked it up and left the bathroom.

"Mi- I mean Riku?"

I went to the railing and looked over. "Yes?"  
>The maid smiled softly. "I brought your dinner. Would you like me to wash that uniform for you?"<p>

I nodded and went down to her. "Thank you very much."

"It's my job," she said as she took the dress from me. She nodded at my black shoes I kicked off by the door. "I'll have your shoes polished while I'm at it."

"Thank you again." She smiled and began to leave. "Wait," I said as she reached the door. She looked over her shoulder. "You look pretty today. Just thought you'd want to know."

She smiled brighter than she had ever before. "Thank you, Riku." With that, she disappeared down the stairs.

I went back up to my bathroom. Carefully, I released my hair from the towel and let it fall down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. The window was fogged from my shower, so I took a towel and swiped it clear. I plucked the hairdryer from my supply of hair styling tools and my brush.

Once my hair was dry, I looked at myself. My hair spilled over my shoulder as I turned my head this way and that.

"I don't see it," I muttered to myself as I kept looking at myself. On their own accord, my hands reached up and pulled my hair back behind my head so it couldn't be seen. My throat went dry. "Now I do

In my reflection, I saw not only myself, but Tamaki Suou.

….Before the first day at Ouran….

I went to school like any other day. My hair was tied up with a satin ribbon that went perfectly with my uniform. Lobelia Academy was nice enough for an all-girls academy. My only possible complaint could be the Zuka club with all of its fans.

Lady Benibara would commonly bask in the screams and giggles that most girls showered them with at their presence. I would be the only one wanting to get out of the crowd. Almost always it turned into a mosh pit or something of that style. Apparently you stick out when you are the only one leaving as everybody tries to get closer.

One day, as I was sitting at lunch, she approached me. That day, I was eating chocolate cake. "Hello," she said with a soft smirk.

"Hello," I replied, talking as if she were just another student. I took a bite of my desert.

She stooped down to one knee and took my hand. "Lady Riku, I have a question to ask."

I gave her an annoyed look. "Release my hand and we talk. And it's Satoshi to you."

She looked slightly angered, but moved on, following my request. "Why do you not watch us like everybody else does? You seem indifferent to our actions."

I shrugged. "I'm straight. I see no purpose in oogling over people just because everybody else is. If I truly think somebody is attractive, I won't be drooling."

"If you loved me, why didn't you just say so? I should have known you hide your love."

I slid the fork out of my mouth. "But I don't love you. I actually find you quite annoying. Now if you don't mind, I just want to eat my cake in peace."

…That afternoon…..…..

I got up just like I did every other day of the year. The Zuka girls were having some sort of event where all their fans could watch, which meant, everybody but me was going. The hall ways were mostly empty, except a few teachers out talking.

As I reached the front gates, I heard my name being called. "Satoshi! Miss Satoshi!" Benio was running out to me, a big smile on her face.

How I should've run. How my feet stayed in place and I turned.

"What?"  
>She finally caught up to me. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. It was very unlady like of me."<p>

I shrugged. "We have our moments." I turned and began to walk away, but she caught me by my wrist.

"I have something to make up for it. An apology gift."

"You can give it to me tomorrow. I know you have a big event today. You should get going to that."

She shook her head. "No, you need to get it now, before something happens to it. Somebody is bound to claim it if you don't."

"Then let somebody else have it. I don't mind."

"But it is life changing!" She began pulling me along to it. With her strength compared to mine, I stood no chance. The second she took my wrist it was so.

"You made something life changing appear between lunch and now?"

"Well we are going to do something, first. WE were going to use it for something else, but we decided on this."

I began asking her what it was, but she refused to answer. She lead me somewhere as we talked. On our way, we saw people, all of them heading to the event they were hosting.

"Benio, I have somewhere to be today," I lied. "Can we make this quick?"

She released my wrist. "Fine, fine. Just wait here. I'll be back in a minute." She walked off, and I felt a knot of dread slowly grow.

_Run, run, run!_

But I didn't. All I did was widen my eyes as my head got lighter. Much lighter. I felt my hands numbly reach up and feel the back of my head.

_No ribbon._

Benio appeared from behind me. "So you're straight?" My throat was dry, and I could think of no reply. "Everybody in this school appreciates the work the Zuka club puts into their work. All maidens understand the beauty and care put into every bit we do; appearances, our shows. Except for you. So that means you are a male."

I whipped around and glared at her. In one hand, she held silver scissors. In the other, she had my hair, still in the bow. An evil smirk lined her face.

"I'll leave you alone to finish your cake." She turned on her heel and walked off.

From four different sides, cake slammed into me on plates. It smothered me until I couldn't breathe. Somebody worked it into my now short hair.

When the plates finally fell, I took deep breaths and tried cleaning off my face. Hands grabbed me and drug me to the door. The only reason I knew was because some light got through the frosting.

"This is why you never offend Lady Benibara," somebody hissed in my ear just before I was literally thrown out of Lobelia Academy.

I shifted so I was kneeling and began franticly wiping at my eyes. My bag flew through the air and nailed me on my spine. I went toppling forward, out of breath. Through tears and frosting, I rummaged through it and found my phone. Dialing in a number, I got myself under control.

"Hello? Riku?" said my father's voice on the other line.

"Hello, Dad."

"Is this important? I'm in the middle of finalizing things for a major movie."  
>I stifled a sniffle and said, "I just wanted to say that this academy isn't working out well with me. I'd like to be transferred somewhere else as soon as possible."<p>

He sighed. "That doesn't sound very important. I'll just ask my secretary to work a few things out and I'll get you transferred somewhere else."  
>"Thank you, Dad."<p>

"Riku?"  
>"Yeah?" I bit my lip, hoping he'd ask what was wrong or why I wanted to transfer.<p>

"Make sure it is important before you call me next time. My time is valuable."

The line went dead.


	7. Tamaki's Sick Day

The next day was uneventful. I planned to get into class at the last minute possible, leave it at the first moment possible, and become an unstoppable object in the halls. That way, Tamaki couldn't even touch me. Not that he could in the first place. On that particular day, he was absent. It made my life so much easier.

After school, I decided to stay after and study. Being at home to much made me depressed. The libraries were always full of people, so I settled with looking at everything in the lunch hall. It was quieter there, for some odd reason. What was the purpose of the library if all people were going to do was stand around and talk in it?

After I was finished with my math I sighed and put it away. I took out a book and opened it to the page I had left off at. My eyes rested on the page, but my mind was somewhere else. The words would not reach me. I might as just as well have been staring at ink splattered on a page. I reread the paragraph over and over, but I was getting nowhere.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. "Hey Riku," said Haruhi.

I looked over my shoulder at him. He was the only sane one from the Host Club as far as I could recall. "Hello Haruhi! Is club over already?"

He shook his head. "There was no club today. Tamaki isn't feeling well. Apparently his absence makes club near impossible."

I smiled. "I'm actually quite relieved that he wasn't here. I was afraid he might try to persuade me to come again."

He tilted his head. "So yesterday you didn't want to come?"

"No. He got me to go because I had nothing else to do." I widened my eyes as I realized what I said. "Not that I didn't want to go to your club, well I kind of didn't, but it's just that…: I sighed. "Never mind…"

Haruhi smiled. "Let me guess. Tamaki was your first impression and you were scared everybody would be like that?"

"Yeah," I said, deciding to go with that excuse. I figured that if they didn't know already, they were better off not knowing.

Haruhi pointed at the spot across for me. "Is it okay if I sit?"

I nodded. "Sure! I was getting bored sitting here on my own."

He went over and placed his bag on the table by him before sitting down. "Do you not have friends here at the academy?"

"I do, but they had other things to do besides hang out with me today. They generally do."

"Then why are you here? Why not just go home and study?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I like the people. Being around people is enough for me. My house can feel empty sometimes." I bit my lip. Had I said to much? Why did I randomly rant? I needed to keep a better watch on what I say.

Haruhi didn't seem fazed, and showed no reaction to what was said at all. "Oh. I suppose that makes sense. I was thinking of going home. A lot better than here."

"Why not just call a driver?" I asked, twirling a pencil.

Haruhi looked slightly surprised. "I'm here on scholarship. I'm actually what you guys call a commoner."

I blushed from embarrassment. "Oh. I didn't know that was you. I overall tend to avoid chatter as gossip. It gets one nowhere."

He nodded. "Isn't that the truth." He reached into his bag and began looking through it for something. "So do you have plans for this weekend?'

I shook my head. "No, nothing planned. There rarely is anything planned ever."

He smiled. "Same here. Unless Tamaki decides the club needs to go on a random adventure. They can be so annoying…"

"Random adventure? Like what?"

Haruhi shrugged. "One time they came over to my house, and of the time they dabble in commoners stuff, like super markets and stuff. I think it's stupid."

"Sounds stupid," I mumbled. I glanced at my phone. "I should be getting home soon. My maid might get concerned."

"You only have one maid?"

"A few maids, actually, but they tend to alternate days or work in pairs. I find that when there are many maids, it becomes impersonal."

"That is an interesting way to think of that. Well I'll see you around, I guess."

…..…Later that day…

Kyoya answered the phone. "You're supposed to be in bed. It will make a swift recovery."

"But I want to know how everybody's days went," Tamaki whined. His stomach was hurting, so he had spent the whole day between his bed and the bathroom.

"Everybody had a fine day. Nothing eventful happened," Kyoya said casually. In his mind he thought _You are the one who makes things eventful_.

Tamaki smiled on the other end, although Kyoya couldn't see it. "And what about Riku? Does she absolutely hate me for making her attend club?"

Kyoya looked at Haruhi. "She doesn't hate him. And I found out about her weekend. No plans."

Kyoya repeated the 'Riku Report', as Tamaki had called it, into the phone. Then he smiled at Haruhi. "You can leave now. I won't sell those pictures and we'll have fancy tuna on Monday."

Haruhi grumbled. "I feel like a terrible person… Why does Senpai want to know, anyway?"

Tamaki heard her and nearly yelled. "Because she looks like she needed a friend!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "She has friends."

Tamaki continued to rant, but Kyoya hung up on him. "He gets annoying sometimes."

Haruhi looked at Kyoya. "What do you think he wants to know that for?"

Kyoya shrugged. "Tamaki is childish and random. We can only hope that Riku doesn't get the bad end of his foolishness."


	8. Waking up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

**Authors Note: **Please do not forget to review! I really want to know how I am doing! But let me say, nothing makes me want to write more than listening to the Ouran soundtrack playing on loop.

Riku woke up the next morning at the regular time that she woke up. It annoyed her that she always woke up at the same time despite there being no school on the weekends. But nonetheless, she got ready for the day.

After a quick shower she picked out a blue plaid dress and a matching satin ribbon to hold her hair up. True, she might not be going anywhere, but it was the thought of the action that counted for her. After blow drying her hair and combing it through multiple times, she went out of her room.

Before the door was halfway open already, I knew something was wrong.

There was talking downstairs.

I looked out and saw the host club standing in the doorway talking to Kiki. They saw me immediately.

Tamaki waved. "Good morning Riku!"

The twins waved. "Sorry for dropping in!"

Honey held up a box. "We brought you a gift!"

Kyoya, Haruhi and Mori didn't say anything. Mori was quiet because that is what he does, Haruhi looked guilty for some reason, and Kyoya…. He looked like he was still asleep and was only standing due to somebody holding him up.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Kiki turned to me. "They came to see if you were available to hang out today, Miss."

I looked at her then back at them. "Why are you guys actually here?"

Tamaki smiled brightly. "We wanted to welcome you to the Host Club family! I know we kind of dragged you into the first day, but we wanted to make it up to you!"

"Really now?"

The twins nodded. "That's what he told us over the phone."

Tamaki shushed them. "But we all agreed on it after a momentary discussion!"

"No we didn't," said one. The other added, "Yeah, if anything it just sounded like you didn't want to come here on your own."

Honey jumped in. "We brought you a gift!"

"What is it?" I asked, still not moving from my doorway.

Honey ran up the stairs and held it up so I could take it. I hesitantly took it and looked at it for a few seconds carefully. Before I could open it, Honey took my wrist and began pulling me down the stairs to everybody else.

"Open it near everybody so we can all see your reaction!"

Kiki brightened up. _She doesn't actually think that they are my friends, right? I would have told her if I had friends! She is supposed to be my line of defense if something like this ever happens!_

"Shall I go get you drinks or possibly snacks?"  
>"It's not even eight in the morning. I haven't had breakfast yet!" I interjected.<p>

"Would you like to have breakfast?"

"Yes please," I replied quickly. "But I won't eat it out here. Sorry. It's just rude and awkward to eat a meal when everybody else hasn't."

Tamaki nodded. "It's fine. We'll wait for you to come back." He took the present back and smiled.

I nodded and quickly walked off to the kitchen. The kitchen was a very nice one, with professional level stoves, ovens, pots, pans and knives and deep red walls. When you first entered through the doors, you saw the kitchen with the stoves and such. The white counters gleamed in the sunlight that went through the windows above them. An island snaked through the kitchen with a well in the middle where one could chill drinks at a party or something of the sort. If you went slightly to the left, you'd see the small dining area. An archway with very decorative structure lead into the room which held a large table surrounded by very comfortable chairs, considering they were to dine. You could see between the rooms between the bars that went from the half wall to the ceiling.

"So what would you like, Riku?"  
>"Anything, really." I shook my head. "But that's not the point! You shouldn't have let them in!"<p>

"But I thought they were your friends, Riku!"

"You lost your right to call me that," I told her before going into the dining area. I sat down at the table and rested my head in my hands.

_Maybe I could climb out the window or hide somewhere then they'd get a hint. But I don't want to be rude._ I bit my lip as I thought.

I felt somebody tap my shoulder and I looked back. Tamaki must've come up when I was too lost in my thoughts to hear.

"Sorry about dropping in… I just wanted to make it up to you…"

"What do you want to make up to me? I was making up for letting my mouth run by going to the Host Club."

"For ignoring you," he said bluntly. Then, pulling out the chair next to me, he went on, "I was too happy at the fact you might actually become part of the Host Family that I guess I ruined my chances of that."

"So you're making it up by giving me a present and spending the day with me?"

He smiled. "Of course! The opposite of ignoring somebody is giving them attention! And I find the best and almost only way to give somebody attention is to spend time with them!"

"Then, just asking, why is the rest of the Host Club here?"

"Well Honey wants to show you the joys of cake and sweets, because apparently you don't like them. The twins had nothing better to do and-"

"You didn't want to come alone."

He blushed ever so slightly. "Well I didn't want you to be uncomfortable with just me dropping by."

Kiki put a plate with a single pancake and bacon in front of me. "Would you like anything Tamaki?"

He shook his head and got up. "No. In fact I think I'll just wait with the rest of the Club."  
>With that he made a quick exit.<p>

Kiki looked at me. "He is just like a prince!"

I began prodding at my pancake halfheartedly. "That's what they call him at school. The prince."


	9. What to Do Today

**Authors Note: ** Anything in italics is what Riku is thinking or wants to say.

Breakfast was done far too soon. I took my time eating, but still it went by in a flash. I began fiddling with my fingers and biting my lower lip before I went out.

"Why don't you want to go out with them, Miss Satoshi? They seem nice enough."

"Yeah, but I don't want to become part of their family. It freaks me out…"  
>Kiki nudged me. "You'll be fine. They just want to get to know you! Besides, it can't hurt to have friends besides the ones you already have."<p>

"I suppose… But I don't want it to be them." I crossed my arms and glared at the door as if it were the cause of my problems.

"Don't be picky." She put her hand on the door knob. "Have a good day, alright? If you are having a terrible time, just call and I'll come up with some excuse to get you out of it."

I sighed then reluctantly said, "Fine."

She smiled and opened the door. I went through and smiled like I was glad to see them. "So what did you guys have planned to do today?"

Kyoya was sitting on the sofa and his head was dropping forward, obviously sleeping. Why was he even here? The Twins were playing a game but they reluctantly put it away when Tamaki shot them a glare. Honey was cuddling his stuffed rabbit. Mori was being himself, stoic and quiet next to Kyoya. Haruhi was sitting on the other side of Kyoya and didn't look like he wanted to be here at all. Tamaki was leaning against the wall.

"Whatever you would like to do," Tamaki said with a big smile.

_Great! So just leave and I'll do what I want to do. Sit in my room all day and- I suppose I should lighten up_."I have no ideas what to do. I'm easy going when it comes to these things." I shrugged.

Honey held the box over his head. "We brought you a present! Open it, open it!"

I gently took it from him and looked at it. It was wrapped in a silver reflective wrapping paper with a golden bow on top of it.

"What is it?" I asked as I shook it a bit.

"Open it!" he repeated, swinging his legs.

Just as I was about to, somebody knocked on the door. I handed the gift back to Honey and went to see who it was. "Who is this?" I asked.

The person on the other end of the door was a woman wearing commoner's clothes. She had long brown hair and was wearing a big pair of sunglasses.

"Haruhi!" they called.

Almost immediately, Haruhi jumped up. "Dad!" he said is a quiet voice. "Why is he here?"

The twins shrugged. One of them said, "Don't know, but this just got a lot more interesting."

The other added, "Wonder what will happen."  
>I turned and looked at them as the person outside continued to say, "Haruhi! Are you there?" I said quietly as the others did, "Will you please explain who this is?"<p>

They were about to when Kiki came in. "Shall I answer the door?"

Haruhi shook her head. "No, it'll only cause trouble," he said, continuing to use his quiet voice.

"But won't it be odd if nobody answers? Somebody is always home in these upper-class places," I pointed out.

Haruhi looked around. "Can we hide in your room?"

"What? No!" I nearly yelled.

The twins got up and grabbed me by each arm and began dragging me upstairs. "We have to. We need to hide."

Everybody rushed to get upstairs to my room. Tamaki even got Kyoya on his feet and drug him. How much I wanted to know why all of this important burned. When we finally got in, the twins released my arms and began looking around.

"Nice room," one said. The other nodded. "Really nice."

Kyoya was dropped on one of the sofas and he didn't react. Honey began looking around enthusiastically. Haruhi was at the door of my room, probably begging Kiki to pretend we weren't here. When she finally agreed, Haruhi closed the door.

"I'm really sorry Riku."

"A few things need to be answered. First, which twin is which? Second, who was at the door? Third, why are we avoiding the person at the door?"

Haruhi sighed. "The one on the right his Hikaru. The one on the left is Kaoru."

"How do you know that?"  
>"She's the only one that can tell us apart."<p>

"She?"

Tamaki jumped up. "The person at the door is Haruhi's father. He is a tranny as a profession."

Haruhi nodded. "We're avoiding him because he gets a bit too clingy and gushy at times."  
>"That makes sense…" I looked down. <em>I wonder what it is like to have parents that pay attention to you…<em> Then I realized that if I looked all depressed wouldn't be the best idea. "Why did the twins call Haruhi a she?"

Tamaki quickly said, "Because they are mean and did it as a joke! Because his dad cross-dresses they were implying that Haruhi does the same! But obviously he doesn't! Why would a girl pretend to be a guy then do something that draws lots of attention?"

"Okay…"

Tamaki began franticly looking for a new topic. "You draw? I didn't know that! May I look?" He went over to my books and picked one up.

Honey looked at me. "Why don't you like sweets?"

"Pardon?" I asked, glancing at him then looking back at Tamaki. "And it is rude to go through peoples things."

Tamaki dropped the book like it was poison and backed away. "Sorry, sorry. Just curious."

"Why don't you like sweets? They taste good and they make people happy."

_Not me. _ "I don't eat sweets so that people like you who truly enjoy them can have more of them."

His eyes got big. "But what if I'm willing to sacrifice some sweets so you can have them? You are sacrificing a day to be with us!"

"Not true," Hikaru said. "She had nothing planned. We're just filling it in for her."

"You sure assume things quickly," I snapped at him.

"We don't assume, we know," Kaoru replied. "We blackmailed Haruhi into finding out then telling us!"  
>I glared at Haruhi. "I trusted you."<p>

He looked to the ground. "I am so sorry Riku…"

"If you want to blame somebody, blame us." Hikaru looked at me with surprisingly intense eyes. "We stole some of his things and were going to sell them if he didn't do it."

_Hey look; a reason to avoid the Host Club._ Haruhi nodded. I could see he truly felt bad about it.

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions about it, Haruhi."  
>Kiki knocked on the door. "They left, if you want to leave now."<p>

Tamaki looked far too excited about this news. "Great! Haruhi, you said something about their being a commoner's fair going on!"

"Yeah… What about it?"  
>"We're going there!" He replied as he opened the door. "There are plenty of fun things to do at a fair!"<p>

The others filed out and went downstairs. Tamaki held the door open for me. "After you, miss~!"  
>"Just let me grab my purse," I said as I went up to my bed. My purse was up there and I put the strap of the white bag around me. It was designer, but in a subtle way. You'd have to know it was a designer to be able to see it.<p>

I went down and went out the door before Tamaki.

We all forgot about the gift on the table.


End file.
